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Start-ups

Start-ups
Articles about early-stage companies; pre-IPO, including those still being funded by angel investors, private equity or venture capitalists.
A humanoid robot serves candied hawthorn on sticks at the 2026 Zhongguancun Forum in Beijing, March 25, 2026. Unlike ChatGPT, the robotics industry has yet to find its sweet spot. Photo: Reuters
Robotics

Why China’s humanoid robots are still waiting for their ‘ChatGPT moment’

Limited training data and unresolved hardware challenges continue to hold back humanoid robots from mass adoption, say experts.

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Robotics

Video | Here’s what it takes to get a robot ready for the world

Banking & finance

HKIC, Gobi Partners and HKU launch fund to back university research start-ups

US-China trade war

US panel credits China’s AI edge to open-source models, manufacturing dominance

American Congressional commission concludes China’s open ecosystem has seen performance gaps narrowed with top Western large language models.

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China’s lower-cost AI language models surged in popularity in 2025 with the release of DeepSeek R1. Photo: Shutterstock
Artificial intelligence

OpenClaw, government support fuel rise of 1-person companies in China

Guangdong is the first provincial-level government to roll out comprehensive action plans to support AI-powered OPCs.

US-China relations

US sounds alarm over China’s humanoid robots amid security concerns

AI and robotics executives warn American lawmakers that China’s rapid advances – led by Unitree – threaten US dominance.

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Hong Kong stock market

First HKIC bet SmartMore seeks Hong Kong IPO amid booming tech pipeline

Unicorn’s AI platforms power firms from Tesla to Apple suppliers, highlighting the government fund’s role in the city’s tech investment push.

SmartMore provides intelligent manufacturing and digital innovation through a proprietary industrial platform that integrates software and hardware for enterprise clients. Photo: Edmond So
United States

Anthropic sues Trump administration as row over AI use by military deepens

The Pentagon blacklisted the start-up after it refused to let its technology be used for fully autonomous weapons and domestic surveillance.

Two Sessions 2026

China’s top court says it treats AI cases with care without stifling innovation

Supreme People’s Procuratorate says 4,739 individuals prosecuted last year in cases related to ‘data security breaches’.

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Artificial intelligence

China’s DeepSeek teams with Tencent, HKU on AI tool to sharpen 3D design

Open-source Pointer-CAD framework, built on Alibaba’s Qwen 2.5 model, enhances accuracy and efficiency in computer-aided design: researchers.

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The new 3D design method is the third research paper involving DeepSeek so far this year. Photo: Reuters
US-China tech war

How China’s trillion-yuan plan aims to outpace US curbs and fund new tech giants

Beijing’s work report outlines funding, IPO support and SOE-led tech adoption to accelerate AI and other frontier industries.

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Beijing has pledged to provide a broader range of financing options to nurture the next generation of strategic industries. Photo: Xinhua
Venture capital market

China’s state-led venture capital revival risks losing momentum

Four government funds formed to back projects, but lack of funding diversity could risk stalling the industry again if policy shifts.

Mergers & Acquisitions

How AI ‘scare trade’ is sparking an M&A rush by traditional firms, start-ups

AI start-ups and legacy firms clash in capital markets, spurring M&A as the technology reshapes industries.

United States

US Treasury to stop using Anthropic AI tech, including Claude platform

Anthropic had previously turned down the Pentagon’s demand that it agree to unconditional military use of its Claude models.

US Department of War and Anthropic logos. Illustration: Reuters
United States

Anthropic vows to sue US after Trump tells government to stop using firm’s AI

The start-up has refused to let its models be used for the mass surveillance of US citizens or deployed in fully autonomous weapons systems.

Anthropic has rejected the Pentagon’s demand that it agree to unconditional military use of its Claude models. Photo illustration: Reuters
Artificial intelligence

Facebook owner Meta goes ahead with Manus merger despite Beijing probe

Some Manus employees in Singapore move into Meta’s offices and have been given corporate accounts and other access, two sources said.

Artificial intelligence

China’s MiniMax, Moonshot top AI token use ranking, ending year of US dominance

AI hosting platform OpenRouter’s latest ranking shows high demand for Chinese open-source models following a series of new releases.

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Artificial intelligence

Anthropic’s allegations against Chinese firms expose AI training grey area

The US AI lab says DeepSeek, Moonshot AI and MiniMax AI used its systems to improve their models’ capabilities.

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Anthropic said that DeepSeek, Moonshot AI and MiniMax AI allegedly used roughly 24,000 fraudulent accounts to generate more than 16 million exchanges with its Claude models. Photo: AFP
Robotics

From Doraemon to dexterous hands: LinkerBot equips robots with human skills

The start-up is revolutionising humanoid robotics with ultra-dexterous hands, ushering in a new era of humanlike robotic capability.

US-China relations

China’s extreme 996 work schedule meets US tech’s hustle culture

Why advocates believe 996, the controversial 9am to 9pm, six-day-a-week culture popularised in China, can give American firms decisive edge.

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IPO

Will Chinese AI chip designer Enflame’s Shanghai IPO be another blockbuster?

Tencent-backed Enflame’s listing on the Star Market could follow successful recent flotations from peers Moore Threads, MetaX and Biren.

AI chip designer Enflame on Wednesday entered the inquiry stage of its initial public offering on Shanghai’s Star Market. Photo: Handout
Artificial intelligence

DeepSeek boosts AI model with 10-fold token addition as Zhipu AI unveils GLM-5

The upgrade will allow DeepSeek’s AI model to remember and process more information in a single conversation or task.

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DeepSeek’s update pushed its model’s knowledge cut-off from July 2024 to May 2025, adding nearly a year of new information to the system. Photo: dpa
Artificial intelligence

Funding surge powers Chinese robotics firms as focus shifts to humanoid ‘brains’

State-backed funds, Big Tech drive fresh capital into robotics companies, betting on operating systems that underpin humanoid intelligence.

Artificial intelligence

Compact AI model from China’s StepFun outshines rivals from DeepSeek, Moonshot

StepFun says its lightweight model Step 3.5 Flash aims to redefine efficiency and reasoning in China’s growing AI race.

Robotics

Video | World’s first ‘biomimetic AI robot’ debuts in Shanghai

The robot, which is able to replicate human micro-expressions and walking postures, will be priced at 1.2 million yuan (US$173,000).

The robot, which is able to replicate human micro-expressions and walking postures, will be priced at 1.2 million yuan (US$173,000)
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Artificial intelligence

China’s AI labs race to debut latest models before Lunar New Year

More firms expected to follow Alibaba and Moonshot with model releases, as the festival becomes a key period to establish visibility.

A mobile phone’s screen shows the logo of China’s Zhipu AI in Beijing on January 21, 2026. Photo: AFP
Robotics

Forget soulless humanoid robots like Tesla’s Optimus. This one’s more Wall-E

Fauna Robotics’ humanoid robot Sprout is an attempt to start a focus on ‘approachable’ robots inspired by Wall-E and BB-8, not Terminator.

Icons and Influencers

Nadya Okamoto on challenging norms through menstrual care activism

With nearly 4.5 million TikTok followers, the entrepreneur – who also started a non-profit to combat period poverty – has clearly struck a chord.

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